Updated July 19, 2024 at 3:26 p.m. ET
The Lansing River Trail is the setting for the Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center’s annual ArtPath exhibition with sculptures, installations and murals dotting the way for several miles.
One artist took inspiration from his many trips along the trail for his piece.
Harper Woods-based artist Amadeus Roy says his first experience with the Lansing River Trail was nearly a decade ago when he was a student at Michigan State University.
He remembers going longboarding on the path during one of his first days on campus
"I just went and went and then realized it's a river trail which means it's not going to circle back around, and I have to go home at some point," he said. "I ended up longboarding probably like 12 miles that day."
Roy says after that, he was always finding new spots to explore.
It is a commemoration to the Grand River and Red Cedar River, just kind of giving my thanks to them.
"Any day that I wasn't in class, I was venturing around all the way to like Hawk Island or Potter Park."
His mural for ArtPath called Odyssey on the River is inspired by those memories.
"It is a commemoration to the Grand River and Red Cedar River, just kind of giving my thanks to them, for how much time I've spent around them in my life and the impact that they've had," he said.
He took an abstract approach to his design using saturated blues and greens to depict a river winding through nature.
"It's focused around a blue moving line that is the river itself, and then kind of layers of momentum, that would be the banks. I'm just kind of capturing the life that happens around the river. "
As a pop of contrast, he’s added small flourishes of bright magenta to outline the curves of the river and the landscape he’s painted.
"While I find inspiration in our natural world, I like to push the boundaries of it and kind of take it to a new place," he said.
Roy calls it a happy accident if his mural reminds you of the designs on cups from the 1990s with zig-zagged lines of teal and purple. To him, the magenta almost represents himself and his relationship to the trail.
While I find inspiration in our natural world, I like to push the boundaries of it and kind of take it to a new place.
"Crafting those colors in that way of shows like my efforts of putting in my time and contribution towards making a better existence for the rest of us. "
When Roy returned to mid-Michigan to paint the mural, he found himself biking around for miles just to reorient himself.
"It's almost like a homecoming in a way."
He says taking these long treks is important when it comes to exploring a community .
"Sometimes your answers aren't going to come from a half hour walk and so to both push your boundaries but also your physical self to see what you're capable of is very important ."
Roy wants people who see his mural to be instilled with a sense of adventure even if they don’t have a set destination in mind
"There's a lot of gems just along the way ," he said.
Amadeus Roy’s mural Odyssey on the River can be found under the I-496 bridge on a long wall with many other ArtPath murals from over the years.
The Lansing Art Gallery and Education Center is a financial supporter of WKAR.
